SAH Members in the News

Arzu Studio Hope: Rugs designed by Robert AM Stern, Michael Graves and others

by
Anne Bird | Feb 27, 2013

Imagine the cost of getting a world famous architect — say, Frank Gehry or Zaha Hadid — to design a rug for your home. How much would that cost? For an answer that might surprise you, look to Arzu Studio Hope, a U.S. nonprofit organization that has launched 10 hand-knotted wool rugs designed by Gehry, Hadid, Michael Graves, Robert A.M. Stern and others.

The Masters Collection is produced by highly skilled female weavers in the remote, poverty-stricken province of Bamyan, Afghanistan. Each made-to-order rug takes six to nine months to produce and is sold as a numbered piece, with an artist statement and information about the weavers who made it.